Dusters, Royalty, and Roza
by emy-twilight09
Summary: Vampire Academy in Dimitri's point of view. The moment Dimitri Belikov laid eyes on Rose Hathaway, he thought she was beautiful. But how is he supposed to cope with training the seductive spitfire and watch out for Princess Vasilisa Dragomir. They come first...right?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This is just how I would see the VA world through Dimitri's eyes, who I honestly wish I did own but I don't, that honor goes to Ms. Richelle Mead as does the other characters. This also goes for the dialogue, well most of it. I hope you enjoy.**

Vampire Academy: Dimitri's POV

Chapter 1:

I stood near one of the large sycamore trees, peering across the yard into the windows of the house. A light glowed in the window near the front door where a few of the other Guardians had already scoped out as the kitchen. They had done a perimeter check earlier in the day while Princess Vasilisa and her dhampir friend Rosemarie Hathaway were gone. It had been established they weren't living alone in the house. Living amongst a few other college students. But that had been developed when we had first found them seeing as how this was one of the college's residential housing areas. My eyes snapped to a small form within the house, the room above the kitchen. This room, I had been told, was the princess and Rose's room. The form was to short and muscular to be Moroi so it was Rose. The princess had screamed as the girl rose and crossed a few feet, sitting herself down on the other bed.

Rose hugged the princess tightly against her. After her broken sobs turned into heavy breathing Rose pulled her back to look at the others face. Then I watched as Rose knocked her hair away from her neck, leaning back slightly. I watched, slightly dumbfounded as the princess moved in. And I watched as Rose slipped into pure bliss. I knew she wasn't a blood whore. Hell, no one ever held that filthy term as a title where I was concerned. I knew that Rose was only doing this for Vasilisa's sake. She hadn't had a constant feeder in two years and seeing as how she's probably never even heard of compulsion she couldn't just stop someone on the street and drink from them. I watched intently as the princess pulled back, leaving only two puncture wounds rimmed with smudged blood. Her face, on the other hand, was spotless. She stood, and left the room, leaving Rose on the bed, looking drowsy yet peaceful.

Rose turned her attention to the black cat who sat in a defensive position on the window sill. His hair rose on his back and he was looking at me. And because of that Rose saw me too. She had struggled to stand, in the same weakened state I had seen my mother in before. Rose blinked and looked taken aback. I watched her for only a moment, but it felt like an eternity. The dim lighting didn't do a whole lot for her but I could still see her. She was average height, maybe 5'6, with soft almond skin. Her dark hair was what caught my attention. It hung almost mid back and in this light looked black. She was curvy in an attractive way. A loose tee shirt was all she wore but I could still make out most of her body shape. I broke away as I heard Jacob, one of the other guardians, call me on the small earpiece. I stepped back into the shadows as he ran to join me. Rose ran from the window, moving around the room. We waited for only a few minutes taking the time to talk strategy. The door opened and the two girls stepped on to the sidewalk, trying to walk at a steady pace as if to not alert us that they knew we were behind them. Rose was a little unsteady, stumbling constantly over her feet. We followed behind silently, but one of the other guardians shoe scraped softly on the pavement. The princess tensed and gripped Rose's arm. Then they broke of in a run, well it would have been a run if Rose wasn't suffering from blood loss.

I signaled the other few guardians to run along after them as I slinked behind the other cars. After I had about ten feet on the girls I slipped out on to the sidewalk in front of them, causing them to skid to a stop. I saw recognition dance across Rose's face, but it was soon replaced by an attempt at ferociousness, if only she wasn't on the verge of unconsciousness…

She moved to stand in front of the princess. She had successfully guessed I was the leader, keeping Vasilisa away from me.

"Leave her alone." She growled. "Don't touch her."

I tried to approach her as an injured animal which in a way was what she resembled. I stepped closer but held my palms toward her offering the unspoken vow that I didn't want to hurt them.

"I'm not going to-." But I moved a little to close and she attacked. Well she tried but due to her weakened state she was slow. It did kind of catch me off guard and I kicked into my guardian mode. I pushed her back not meaning to knock her over, but again thanks to her very weak state, she lost her footing and started to fall back in at a very painful angle. Almost as quickly as I had pushed her away I reached out, snagging her arm carefully, and steadied her. Her hair had fallen back and I saw the punctures from the feeding, crusted with blood, but more blood was now starting to well up. I couldn't help but stare and it took her a few extra moments to register what I was looking at. Her free hand slid up to the bite, feeling the it and when she pulled her fingers away they were tinged with blood. She examined her fingers and then shook her hair back over her shoulder, blocking me from seeing it. My gaze lingered a little longer and then I looked up to her gorgeous big brown eyes. She glared at me and shook me free. She moved back to Vasilisa, but the princess grabbed Rose's hand, knowing they were trapped and Rose would take the butt of the punishment if they kept up the fighting.

"Rose," she muttered. "Don't."

I watched as Rose slowly relaxed and in a small sign of defeat sagged in exhaustion. I took this as my opportunity, turning my attention to the princess. I did one of my practiced bows I reserved for the royal Moroi.

"My name is Dimitri Belikov. I've come to take you back to St. Vladimir's Academy, Princess."

**Did you enjoy the first chapter? I'm testing the VA waters with this one. I hope you do, and if you do would you do the kind favor of reviewing or even following this story. And if you have any questions I'm open for PMing.**

**Emma**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Again I do not own the dialogue from VA, or the characters. That is given to Ms. Richelle Mead.**

Chapter 2:

I stood near the landing strip as we waited to board. I saw Rose muttering to Vasilisa, who insisted to be called Lissa, and practically laughed. Did they really think I'd be that stupid? Rose was smart. It's not a compliment, just a fact. I mean she had managed to keep off the radar with the princess. So I wasn't very surprised to see she was already plotting another escape. I leaned over to Jacob, watching the girls intently as if they would run off any minute.

"Don't let them talk to each other," I said. "Five minutes together, and they'll come up with an escape plan."

This earned me a proud look from Rose, and then she marched to the back of the plane. I sat in the seat next to the princess.

She seemed tense throughout the flight. Her fingers clutched a bottle of water, probably attempting to stop herself from shaking, which I noticed when she tried to untwist the cap and it fell through her fingers on to the floor. I stopped her before she could grab it and picked it up, handing it back to her.

We were about forty-five minutes away when I decided to go talk to Rose. I didn't want her to be angry at me when I was just following orders. This was my attempt at a treaty. I moved back to Jacob, gesturing him to my seat. He moved away without asking and I took over his seat. Rose turned to the window, and when I say turned I mean literally shifted her body so her back was facing me. In all honesty it kind of irked me that she was being so childish. Nothing really got under my skin but her attitude was and I decided it was just the lack of sleep over these last few days. I steadied myself and turned to her.

"Were you really going to attack all of us?" I tried to sound conversational.

No answer. Really? I guess I'll try again then.

"Doing that…protecting her like that—it was very brave." I stopped realizing I was fueling her vanity. I recovered, "_Stupid_, but still brave. Why did you even try it?" This finally got a reaction. She was still agitated, however.

She looked over at me, brushing a bit of her hair out of her face so she could look me in the eye. I noticed her hair was dark brown and not black like I had thought.

"Because I'm her guardian." And with that she turned away and I knew out little chat was over. I returned to the front of the jet. And not long after we landed. The girls were quiet as we rode to the school. We started our walk to Kirova's office, cutting across the lawns. The sun was starting to sink into the west, signaling the morning for the school. I was surprised to see Rose catch up to me.

"Hey, Comrade." I didn't look over at her; I just kept walking, with eyes set for

"You want to talk now?"

"Are you taking us to Kirova?"

"_Headmistress _Kirova," I corrected. Okay I was kind of being a hypocrite but her attitude from earlier still bugged me a bit.

"Headmistress. Whatever. She's still a self-righteous old bit—." Rose's insult trailed as she realized where we were going. Kirova had instructed we lead them through the commons. She stated that it was the fastest way, but I knew she wanted to parade the girls through breakfast as a way of publicly displaying their humiliation. In all honesty I felt a bit sorry for them, but orders are orders. I paid no attention to the room, but kept my eyes focused forward as we passed through the commons. We ended in Kirova's office, Alberta and I moving to the wall as we watched the events unfold.

Kirova was sitting at her desk. I could tell her lashing words were on the tip of her tongue, but before she could speak, Prince Victor Dashkov stepped out of the shadows.

"Vasilisa." And with that, I could see some of the earlier tension melt away from Lissa. She ran over to the prince, throwing her arms around the man's sickly form.

"Uncle," she whispered, tears starting to brim in the corners of her eyes. He smiled softly and patted her back. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you safe, Vasilisa." His gaze shifted to Rose. "And you too, Rose." Which she merely replied to with a nod. Kirova led Lissa back to her seat. She started scolding Lissa for her reckless behavior and self-centeredness. I mainly watched Rose. She was obviously spacing, not really paying attention to Kirova's speech. But when the tables turned on her, she kicked off auto pilot.

"You, Miss Hathaway, broke the most sacred promise of our kind: the promise of a guardian to protect a Moroi. It is a great trust. A trust that you violated by selfishly taking the princess away from here. The Strigoi would love to finish off the Dragomirs; _you _nearly enabled them to do it."

"Rose didn't kidnap me." Lissa spoke up. "I wanted to go. Don't blame her." But Kirova merely _tsk_ed at the two of them and started to pace her office, hands folded behind her back.

"Miss Dragomir, you could have been the one who orchestrated the entire plan for all I know, but it was still _her _responsibility to make sure you didn't carry it out. If she'd done her duty, she would have notified someone. If she'd done her duty, she would have kept you safe."

It didn't take an idiot to see that Rose was angry. No, not angry, just extremely pissed off. I still flinched, as did Alberta when she sprang up from her chair.

"I_ did _my duty!" She shouted. "I did keep her safe! I kept her safe when none of _you—_," she gestured to all of us—"could do it. I took her away to protect her. I did what I had to do. You certainly weren't going to." Kirova merely stared at Rose.

"Miss Hathaway, forgive me if I fail to see the logic of how taking her out of a heavily guarded, magically secured environment is protecting her. Unless there's something you aren't telling us?"

Rose didn't answer but bit her lip as if she had said too much.

"I see. Well, then. By my estimation, the only reason you left—aside from the novelty of it, no doubt—was to avoid the consequences of that horrible, destructive stunt you pulled just before your disappearance."

"No, that's not—"

"And that only makes my decision that much easier. As a Moroi, the princess must continue on here at the Academy for her own safety, but we have no such obligations to you. You will be sent away as soon as possible."

"I…what?" Okay, my earlier anger towards her dried up. She was being sent away from Lissa. Did Kirova not know…?

Lissa stood up next to Rose. "You can't do that! She's my guardian."

"She is no such thing, particularly since she isn't even a guardian at all. She's still a novice."

"But my parents—" Lissa tried to interject.

"I know what your parents wanted, God rest their souls, but things have changed. Miss Hathaway is expendable. She doesn't deserve to be a guardian, and she will leave."

Rose merely gawked at Kirova. I almost did too. "Where are you going to send me? To my mom in Nepal? Did she even know I was gone? Or maybe you'll send me off to my _father?_" Again I felt sorry for Rose. Judging from the way she spoke, she didn't really have a relationship with her mother, but who did with Janine Hathaway. She was the perfect example of a perfect guardian. And as for Rose's father, she didn't know him, which wasn't uncommon when it came to dhampirs.

Rose's voice was cold when she spoke again, "Or maybe you're going to try to send me off to be a blood whore." That term I loathed. "Try that and we'll be gone by the end of the day."

"Miss Hathaway," Kirova hissed, "you are out of line." Really? Because a lot of what she had just said kind of destroyed the line. I took this as an opportunity to end this.

"They have a bond." I said firmly, eyes still locked on Rose. She turned to face me. Eyes wide, surprised at what I had just said. "Rose knows what Vasilisa is feeling. Don't you?" It wasn't really a question. I already knew the answer and judging from the look on Rose's face I was right. Now Kirova gawked at the two of us. "No…that's impossible. That hasn't happened in centuries."

Rose looked away from me.

"That is a gift," murmured Victor from the corner. "A rare and wonderful thing."

"The best guardians always had that bond." I added. "In the stories." I felt that I had to at least help Rose stay for Lissa's sake.

Kirova was angered that her plan now had a huge hole in it. "Stories that are centuries old," she exclaimed. "Surely you aren't suggesting we let her stay at the Academy after everything she's done?" Kirova stared at me incredulously.

I merely shrugged. "She may be wild and disrespectful, but if she has potential—" I was then cut off by Rose, even though I was trying to help her…so much for chivalry.

"Wild and disrespectful? Who the hell are you anyway? Outsourced help?"

"Guardian Belikov is the princess's guardian now," Kirova said. "Her _sanctioned _guardian."

"You got cheap foreign labor to protect Lissa?" She exclaimed. Ouch. Did she realize I was trying to help her?

Kirova threw her hands up in exasperation and turned to me. "You see? Completely undisciplined! All the psychic bonds and _very_ raw potential in the world can't make up for that. A guardian without discipline is worse than no guardian."

"So teach her discipline. Classes just started. Put her back in and get her training again." I retorted. Even though she's being a pain in the ass I knew she needed to do this if she wanted to be Lissa's guardian.

"Impossible. She'll be hopelessly behind her peers."

"No I won't." She tried to say but Kirova and I went on without glancing at her.

"Then give her extra training sessions," I said. It was a pretty good idea.

"Who's going to put in the extra time?" demanded Kirova. "You?"

I stopped. Oh shit…bad idea…bad idea! "Well that's not what I—"

Kirova crossed her arms smugly. "Yes. That's what I thought." I frowned at her and then looked over to Lissa and Rose. They looked hopeful. Why shouldn't they be? Rose's career hung in the balance and I had willingly challenged Kirova to set it back down.

"Yes," I said finally. I had to do this. "I can mentor Rose. I'll give her extra sessions along with her normal ones." God help me…

"And then what?" Kirova retorted, angry that I had duped her once again. "She goes unpunished?"

"Find some other way to punish her." I stated calmly. I really just wanted to call Kirova out on how she wasn't aiming for the greater good but shooting to maintain her satisfaction. I knew she hated Rose, but she was acting childish now and I wanted to roll my eyes at her. Instead I pulled out the facts. "Guardian numbers have gone down too much to risk losing another. A girl, in particular." I refused to say anything relating to the filthy term. But even though I hadn't spoken the words a shudder ran through Rose.

Prince Victor spoke up from the corner. "I'm inclined to agree with Guardian Belikov. Sending Rose away would be a shame, a waste of talent." Well now Kirova was stuck. I had the backing of a royal Moroi. She stared out the window. When she turned back, Lissa met her eyes. "Please, Ms. Kirova. Let Rose stay." She said in a pleading voice. It must have been the icing on the cake because Kirova cracked. She let out a sigh.

"If Miss Hathaway stays, here's how it will be." She turned herself to Rose. "Your continued enrollment at St. Vladimir's is strictly probationary. Step out of line _once_, and you're gone. You will attend all classes and required trainings for novices your age. You will also train with Guardian Belikov in every spare moment you have—before _and _after classes. Other than that, you are banned from all social activities, except meals, and will stay in your dorm. Fail to comply with any of this, and you will be sent…away."

Rose let out a harsh laugh. "Banned from all social activities? Are you trying to keep us apart?" She nodded towards Lissa. "Afraid we'll run away again?"

Rose had a point. These rules were a tad harsh. But they kept her here.

"I'm taking precautions. As I'm sure you recall, you were never properly punished for destroying school property. You have a lot to make up for." Kirova's lips tightened to a straight line. "You are being offered a very generous deal. I suggest you don't let your attitude endanger it."

I watched as Rose started to protest but then our eyes locked. I pleaded silently that she should just shut up and take the opportunity for Lissa's sake. She looked to the floor. Then at last she exhaled and looked up at Kirova.

"Fine. I accept."

**Holy long chapter. I think I have a kink in my neck from trying to type and read the book at the same time. How's that for multitasking? Any who I'm extremely happy to see that you guys like it. I hope to hear from you more!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Again I do not own the dialogue from VA, or the characters. That is given to Ms. Richelle Mead.**

Chapter 3:

Kirova instructed the girls to go on to their scheduled classes. Again, I pitied the girls. They looked like they were about to pass out. But, it didn't matter what I thought, so I did as I was told and followed Rose along with Alberta to one of the guidance counselor's offices.

"Poor thing." Alberta murmured when the door to the office closed behind Rose.

"Hmm?" I looked over at her.

"She must be exhausted. Her and the princess. I don't know what Ellen was thinking. At least let them get a bit of sleep." I gave her a nod and waited for Rose to return. I could tell that Alberta was fond of Rose. Then again Alberta knew Rose, seeing as how Rose had grown up here at the Academy. But there was also something about Rose. It's as if her passion about Vasilisa and being a guardian commandeered respect. I didn't really know Rose, but I could understand how being a guardian was a way of life for her.

Rose came out about five minutes later, and from there we trudged on to the guardians' gym. Alberta and I were silent as we moved forward, Rose walked behind, keeping a steady pace. When we reached the gym I felt another pang of pity for Rose. All eyes were on her. Needless to say, she took it well enough, scanning the crowd until her eyes landed on the novice Mason Ashford. He was pretty high up in his class. He had actually been asked to lead the class today. They must have been old friends, because when Rose saw him her eyes lit up and a hint of a smile played along her lips.

"Hey Mason, wipe that drool off your face. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own time." This earned a couple of snorts and snickers from the other novices. Mason gave Rose a lopsided grin.

"This _is_ my time, Hathaway. I'm leading today's session." He said haughtily.

"Oh yeah?" She retorted. "Huh. Well, I guess this is a good time to think about me naked, then." She played it off easily.

"It's _always_ a good a time to think about you naked." Eddie Castile, another novice, added.

I shook my head as I left the conversation before it got to appalling. I do think I might have said a few obscene words in Russian, but I said them absentmindedly to myself and no one really spoke Russian so I was in the clear.

I watched as Rose fought Mason on the mats below, getting knocked down every two minutes. Oh did I have my work cut out for me. It was obvious she had not been working out on a regular basis and she was way behind on the moves. I moved on to Stan Alto's class a little before first period ended. I took up the back wall with a few other guardians. Rose came in, finding a seat, moving as if she were a bit sore. I watched as Stan came into the room and he narrowed her out right away. Rose must not be a very well liked person among the other faculty members, because Stan publicly victimized her, pulling her to the front of the room. Rose was flushed from both embarrassment and anger. If looks could kill…

Rose took it with her chin up anyways, which I admired.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and then noticed that the few guardians were also watching.

"So, Hathaway," Stan started cheerfully. "Enlighten us about your protective techniques."

"My…techniques?"

"Of course. Because presumably you must have had some sort of plan the rest of us couldn't understand when you took an underage Moroi royal out of the Academy and exposed her to constant Strigoi threats."

Hadn't she just gone over this and hour ago?

"We never ran into any Strigoi," she replied stiffly.

"Obviously," he snickered. "I already figured that out, seeing as how you're still alive." Rose looked as if she was having a really hard time to control her temper. Stan started to pace in front of the class.

"So what'd you do? How'd you make sure she stayed safe? Did you avoid going out at night?"

"Sometimes."

"_Sometimes,_" he repeated in a high-pitched voice. This was extremely cruel. "Well then, I suppose you slept during the day and stayed on guard at night."

"Er…no."

"No? But that's one of the first things mentioned in the chapter on solo guarding. Oh wait, you wouldn't know that because _you weren't here_." What was the point of this, really? But Rose just held her tongue with an extreme amount of self-control.

"I watched the area whenever we went out," she replied.

"Oh? Well that's something. Did you use Carnegie's Quadrant Surveillance Method or the Rotational Survey?"

Rose was silent.

"Ah. I'm guessing you used the Hathaway Glance-Around-When-You-Remember-To Method." I honestly felt bad for Rose. But I couldn't do anything. This was Stan's class, so I remained stoic.

"No!" She exclaimed angrily. "That's not true. I watched her. She's still alive, isn't she?"

Then he got in her face. "Because you got _lucky_."

"Strigoi aren't lurking around every corner out there," she shot back. "It's not like what we've been taught. It's safer than you guys make it sound."

"Safer? _Safer_? We are at war with the Strigoi!" He yelled, still in her face. "One of them could walk right up to you and snap your pretty little neck before you even noticed him—and he'd barely break a sweat doing it." That was implausible, seeing as how Strigoi don't sweat. "You might have more speed and strength than a Moroi or a human, but you are nothing, _nothing_, compared to a Strigoi. They are deadly, and they are powerful. And do you know what makes them more powerful?"

Rose looked away from Stan, her eyes slightly red as if she were starting to cry. And they were looking right at me. I wanted to give her a reassuring smile, but my guardian attitude won out and I just stared at her.

"Moroi blood," she whispered. I wouldn't have known had she not still been staring at me.

"What was that?" asked Stan loudly. You would think a man of his age and a teacher no less would disapprove of bullying. "I didn't catch it."

I caught a flash of anger in Rose's eyes as she spun around to face Stan again.

"Moroi blood! Moroi blood makes them stronger!"

He merely nodded, satisfied with what he had just put her through. But not before delivering a final blow.

"Yes. It does. It makes them stronger and harder to destroy. They'll kill or drink from a human or dhampir, but they want Moroi blood more than anything else. They seek it. They've turned to the dark side to gain immortality, and they want to do whatever they can to keep that immortality. Desperate Strigoi have attacked Moroi in public. Groups of Strigoi have raided academies exactly like this one. There are Strigoi who have lived for thousands of years and fed off generations of Moroi. They're almost impossible to kill. And _that_ is why Moroi numbers are dropping. They aren't strong enough—even with guardians—to protect themselves. Some Moroi don't even see the point of running anymore and are simply turning Strigoi by choice. And as the Moroi disappear…"

"…so do the dhampirs," Rose finished solemnly.

"Well," he licked his lips. "It looks like you've learned something after all. Now we'll have to see if you can learn enough to pass this class and qualify for your field experience next semester." Rose returned to her seat.

* * *

Rose was on her way to lunch when I caught up to her, matching my step to hers.

"I suppose you saw what happened in Stan's class?" She asked, even though she knew. I didn't feel like correcting her on his title of Guardian Alto, one because she didn't need me to chastise her, and two because I agreed that he was being a grade-A tool, so he didn't deserve it.

"Yes." I simply said.

"And you don't think that was unfair?" I could tell she was drained now, more than earlier. I decided that I couldn't coddle her, even if I felt bad for her. So I decided to play a bit of devil's advocate.

"Was he right? Do you think you were fully prepared to protect Vasilisa?" I couldn't tell Rose I had taken her nickname of Lissa. Titles were important in this society.

Rose looked down at the ground, averting my gaze. "I kept her alive," she mumbled. I decided to try lightening the mood.

"How did you do fighting against your classmates today?" I already knew the answer, but it was best to keep her mind off Stan's ridicule.

She didn't answer.

"If you can't fight _them_—" I continued.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she snapped. I didn't realize she took offense, but I remembered tough love. I slowed.

"You're strong and fast by nature. You just need to keep yourself trained. Didn't you play any sports while you were gone?"

"Sure," she shrugged. "Now and then." Okay I didn't feel bad that she was out of shape. That was on her.

"You didn't join any teams?" I pressed.

"Too much work. If I'd wanted to practice that much, I'd have stayed here." I looked at her, exasperated. She had been so determined on becoming Lissa's guardian. Where was it now? I knew she was playing me.

"You'll never be able to really protect the princess if you don't hone your skills. You'll always be lacking." I know it was harsh but she was the one that was acting like a brat.

"I'll be able to protect her." She defended.

"You have no guarantees of being assigned to her, you know—for your field experience _or_ after you graduate." I said. I wasn't going to coddle. I was being truthful. "No one wants to waste the bond—but no one's going to give her an inadequate guardian either. If you want to be with her, then you need to work for it. You have your lessons. You have me. Use us or don't. You're an ideal choice to guard Vasilisa when you both graduate—if you can prove you're worthy. I hope you will." I knew this sank in, because, instead of her usual snappy retort, she merely answered with "Lissa, call her Lissa," and I turned, leaving her for her lunch.

**So that was chapter 3. Now the next chapter might be a bit shorter because Dimitri comes in at the end and then it branches over to chapter 5 from Lissa's POV so don't know what I'll do with that so if you have any suggestions, PM me. Please don't hesitate to add a comment. I don't diss constructive criticism. And if you're shy i don't mind a follow.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Again I do not own the dialogue from VA, or the characters. That is given to Ms. Richelle Mead.**

Chapter 4:

I walked around the campus, patrolling even though I wasn't on duty. It was somewhat warm tonight, I wonder what the later A.M. hours would feel like. I missed the sun. It's not the same in the night. That's why I always request the "night" shift. Seeing as how the princess was back, however, I was told to watch over her and Rose to assure they didn't make another getaway any time soon. So I was stuck patrolling in the "day". The literal daytime reminded me of home. Montana wasn't such a far cry from Siberia. Homesickness twisted in my gut. I was always scolded by my mother and sisters for not visiting more often, but I had decided that I had to do my job and protect Moroi. Well that's what I say anyways. I think, secretly, that if I do go home I won't want to come back. I kept up with them. Well, most of the time.

I shifted my attention to the commons. I was a little hungry and I needed to distract myself from home. Food works. I got an apple, seeing as how training dhampirs inhale most of the food.

"Dimitri!" Alberta called as she jogged up next to me.

"Yeah?"

"Kirova wanted me to tell you to watch Rose. Just in case she tries anything."

"Why? I've already been signed up for early morning and after school practices with her." I sounded a little snarky, I'm not going to lie. Alberta just chuckled lightly.

"Rose is not that bad, I promise. She's devoted and I think you two will work well together. In a way she's kind of like you. She'll grow on you." And with that Alberta left. I realized I wasn't being so fair when I was talking about Rose. I was being a little bias because of the way she had treated me earlier. Than again, I don't think I'd be in such a good mood either if I hadn't slept in 24 hours, got beat up in training, and publicly humiliated in just one morning. I wasn't going to coddle her though. She had to take training seriously. Hell, she had to take me seriously.

The bell rang signaling the end of fifth period. Which means I had three free periods until I had to do the after school training with Rose. Sure, Kirova told me to watch her, but I decided that I'd wait until tomorrow to start that. It's not that I didn't want to watch her. I found it entertaining the way she easily fraternized with the other novices. And I liked the way she carried herself. She reminded me of her mother, well just the way she acted. I wonder if that was what Janine Hathaway was once like. I almost laughed. A rebellious Janine, was not easily comprehendible. They didn't look anything alike though. Rose had the long dark hair and the exotic looks I guessed she inherited from her father.

All this thinking about Rose brought that pang of sympathy back. I thought back to how both Kirova and Stan said that Rose was being extremely selfish. I had the feeling though that when it came to Lissa, selfishness wasn't in Rose's nature. And Lissa being stalked wasn't so absurd. She was the last Dragomir, which made her extremely valuable.

My mind was pulled back into the throws of reality when I saw movement from the corner of my eye. Guardians were trained for that kind of reaction. I eased when I saw it was just Victor Dashkov and his daughter Natalie. I had a gut feeling that something was amiss when it came to Victor Dashkov. He didn't set right with me. He had a deeply rooted mischievious look. I tried to shake it off, but whenever he was around I had a bad feeling there was a double meaning to his actions.

"Guardian Belikov!" Victor waved over to me, beckoning me forward. I moved steadily to where he stood with his daughter.

She was short for a Moroi, but she had their slim figure. She was peeking around her father's should, almost cowering. She had the jade green eyes that she shared with her father and Lissa, but instead of the pale blonde hair, she had long, inky black hair. She reminded me of a child. She had that wide-eyed innocent look, and looked completely clueless, even though she was the same age as Lissa and Rose.

"I wanted to say before I left," Victor smiled kindly, "that I appreciate you watching over Vasilisa. And I wish you the best of luck with Rosemarie. She's a nice girl, even though she has a somewhat tough exterior. I also wanted to thank you for agreeing to mentor her. It means a lot to Vasilisa so it means a lot to me. Joined at the hip those two." He smiled, slightly amused. "I'm sure you know of the accident that took Vasilisa's family."

"Yes, quite a tragedy. Rose and Princess Vasilisa were the only survivors." I nodded. He was rambling. But he was royal and to just leave would be extremely disrespectful, even if I didn't like the guy.

"Well, I read the reports and judging from where Rosemarie had been sitting, she shouldn't have lived either. She and Vasilisa are both extremely lucky to be alive." The bell rang marking the end of seventh period.

"I'm sorry, I'm probably keeping you from practice preparations aren't I? Well, I'm off anyways. I hope Rosemarie doesn't cause you too much trouble." Victor smiled slyly, nodding his goodbye, and sauntering away with his daughter in tow.

That was…weird. I shook it off and started towards my room to pick up a few things for practice. Why would Victor Dashkov tell me about that? Was there a point or was he simply trailing off? I had no idea. But what he said was a little disturbing. Rose should've died? I wondered if maybe he had read a few faulty reports.

I went to the guardians' gym, flipping on a couple lights. I decided to give her some weight reps, trying to go as easy as I could. But I couldn't go to easy. This was conditioning after all. And if this was too hard for her, well it was her fault she didn't stay in shape over these past few years. I set some workout clothes for her outside the locker room. I seriously doubted she would want to keep exercising in the jeans and t-shirt she'd been wearing all day. The bell rang again, marking the end of eighth period. I decided I'd give Rose a few minutes to make the trek over here.

After five minutes she still hadn't shown. Either she decided ditching was a good idea and she'd get away with it or she simply forgot. I hoped it was the latter but who knows with Rose Hathaway. I left, setting across campus to find her. I eventually did. She was talking quietly to Lissa. I didn't catch the last bit but whatever she said Lissa nodded to.

"Rose?" She and Lissa looked at me. Rose was a little startled. "You're late for practice," I continued, holding an even tone. I turned to look at Lissa giving her a nod. "Princess." With that, both Rose and I turned to walk back to the gym. I heard her stop. I turned to see what she was doing. She just stood there, face slack, eyes glazed over as if she was zoning out.

"Rose, are you alright?" I asked. No answer.

**You know how hard it is to get into the mindset of a guy? Well it's not so hard, but I really want to do a good job with telling this through Dimitri. I'm sorry I haven't put a whole lot of his thoughts and feelings into the last few chapters but, he does a lot of dialogue in the first three. Anywho, I hope you liked this chapter and I will most likely update tomorrow night. Thanks for all the reviews so far. It really means a lot. I mean you have no idea.**

**Emma**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Again I do not own the dialogue from VA, or the characters. That is given to Ms. Richelle Mead.**

Chapter 5:

"Rose? Rose?" What the hell was going on? I snapped my fingers in front of her face. I nudged her.

"Rose? Can you hear me? Rose snap out of this." And I did this for a few minutes. She shuddered, blinking back into consciousness.

"Rose? Rose?" Her glazed over look deteriorated as she stared up at me. I was leaning toward her, holding her shoulders. "Are you alright?" Even if she was alright, I should probably escort her to the clinic. I was a little shaken, but I tried to keep a calm and steady voice as I talked to her. I sounded like my mother when I was young. She would coax me into calming down when I was crying, when I cried that is. She used it mostly on my sisters.

"I…yeah. I was…I was with Lissa…" She put a hand to her forehead, looking extremely bewildered. "I was in her head." She stated simply. If I thought I was freaked out earlier I was on the verge of hysteria now.

"Her…head?" I asked. I probably looked at her like she was mad. But the way she said that, so nonchalantly, I wasn't going to rule out the possibility.

"Yeah. It's part of the bond." She said shortly. Okay, now somehow I found rationality in that. I thought she had been crazy, but with Rose, she was somehow sane through all of this chaotic life of hers. She wasn't crazy, even though her life was.

"Is she alright?" I asked. I realized I had just asked that out of formality. I was more worried about Rose at this moment. I mentally slapped myself. Rose isn't your Moroi. Worry about Lissa not Rose. I tried to mentally chastise myself but a part of me couldn't help but worry about Rose.

"Yeah, she's…" Rose trailed off. She paused a few moments, as if trying to find the correct words. "She's not in danger." She said, more to herself than to me.

"Can you keep going?" I asked. Could she?

"Yeah. I'm fine." She nodded. I walked next to her rather than in front of her so I could see her if she fell back into that brain dead state. She went off to the dressing room, picking up the clothes I had left her on the way. She came out a few minutes later, looking ragged.

"Can we start this tomorrow?" She asked; hints of whininess in her voice. I laughed, thinking she was messing with me. She did have a reputation of sarcastic remarks.

"Why is that funny?" She hissed.

"Oh," I tried to drop my smile. "You were serious."

"Of course I was! Look, I've technically been awake for two days. Why do we have to start this training now? Let me go to bed," she whined. "It's just one hour."

I crossed my arms trying to look as intimidating as possible. I honestly questioned if she was as devoted as she said she was. But of course I knew that she was that dedicated to protecting Lissa, as if it were herself, and in a way it was. So I used the logistics of my sisters, handling this situation as I would if with Viktoria.

"How do you feel right now? After the training you've done so far?" I asked. She did look slightly strained, verging on exhaustion.

"I hurt like hell." She said simply, shrugging.

"You'll feel worse tomorrow."

"So?" She looked at me as if I hadn't just answered her.

"So, better to jump in now while you still feel…not as bad." I used all my self-control to not break the tough Guardian face I had. I found that was happening a lot lately...

"What kind of logic is that?" She sniped. Obviously not thrilled with my answer. I didn't give in to her whining; I led her into the weight room, showing her what to do and how to do it. In all honesty today I was going easy on her. I decided to bide my time by reading one of my favorite Westerns. I could see her glance over at me in envy. She finished sooner than I thought a girl in her "near-death state" could. I stood giving her a couple cool down stretches.

"How'd you end up as Lissa's guardian?" She asked. "You weren't here a few years ago. Were you even trained at this school?"

School only made me think of home. This, of course, was something I tended to stay away from.

"No. I attended the one in Siberia." I responded, trying to keep the wistfulness out of my voice.

"Whoa. That's got to be the only place worse than Montana." That almost cracked my façade, but I kept my mouth taut. "After I graduated, I was a guardian for a Zeklos lord. He was killed recently." I could feel my face droop. I really didn't enjoy talking about_ that._ "They sent me here because they needed extras on campus. When the princess turned up, they assigned me to her, since I'd already be around. Not that it matters until she leaves campus." I shrugged. I really just wanted to talk about something else, or better yet, not talk at all.

"Did this lord die on your watch?" Her voice was little, and hesitant.

"No. He was with the other guardian. I was away." The cold tone I had, made her stop prodding. I thought about _that._

"Hey," her voice pulled me back to reality. She had a kind smile tugging at the edges of her lips. I realized she had been analyzing me. "Did you help come up with the plan to get us back? Because it was pretty good. Brute force and all that." I looked down at her, curious for the double standard to this compliment. I mean, I didn't know Rose all that well, but she usually threw in some sort of quip when complimenting others, or just trying to be nice. When she didn't enlighten me, I continued.

"You're complimenting me on that?"

"Well, it was a hell of a lot better than the last one they tried." She smirked. Another bout of confusion.

"Last one?"

"Yeah. In Chicago. With the pack of psi-hounds." Psi-hounds? No one ever mentioned this to me which means, we, the Guardians, had nothing to do with this.

"This was the first time we found you. In Portland." She sat up from her stretches and crossed her legs.

"Um, I don't think I imagined psi-hounds. Who else could have sent them? They only answer to Moroi. Maybe no one told you about it." I had a theory Rose was trying to excuse this for some odd, teenaged, hormonal, girl reason, but at the moment, I was really trying to find a bit of reasoning to this psi-hound hunt in Chicago then trying to discover what was bothering Rose.

"Maybe." I said dismissively.

**So, yes, I know I took forever to update, but I am just going to say my teachers like to act like extreme hard-asses the last two weeks of school. So when I'm not doing homework I'm sleeping. But school is out and I'm trying to motivate myself. Really guys, I'm sorry I'm dragging, but please bear with me, at least until I get on to my summer sleep pattern.**

**I can't promise the next update will be in the near future, but soon.**

**XOXO- Emma**


End file.
